Fan attachment for rocking chairs



April 22, 1924.

1,491,542 J. C. R. MARCH 4 FAN ATTACHMENT FOR ROCKING CHAIRS Filed Sept.l2. 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Z' 35 Q. Ns

April 22, 1924. 1,491,542

J c. R. MARCH FAN ATTACHMENT FOR ROCKING CHAIRS Filed Sept. l2. 1922 2Sheds-Sheetl 2 Patented Apr. 22, 1924.

l raarste UNTED STATES FEEN @FF-QE.

FAN ATTACHMENT ron-Rosalind canins.

Application .mea september i2, i922. seria1i ro-f5s7sa delphia, State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in FanAttachments for Rocking Chairs, of which the following is aspecification.

Some of the objects of the present invention are to provide a fanactuated by the rocking motion of a chair or any other 'rock-V ingdevice ina manner to simulate the manual manipulation of a fan; toprovide means for imparting an oscillatory motion to a fan which can bereadily applied to or removed from a rocking chair; to provide a fanoperated by a rocking chair whereby currents of air are directed towardsthe occupant of the chair; to provide a rocker operated fan wherein thefan automatically changes its position at the end of each rockingmovement; to providel means for actuating a fanby the movement of arocking chair whereby the rocking eort is reduced to a minimum; and toprovide other improvements as will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1

v represents a side elevation of a rocking chair equipped with one formof fan mechanism embodying the `present invention; Fig. 2 represents adetail in section of the main bearing construction; Fig. 3 represents adetail in sectional elevation of the fan supporting mechanism; Fig. 4rep-resents a section on line 4 1 of Fig. 3: Fig. 5 represents-a sectiononline 5-5 of Fig. 3: Fig. 6 represents a detail in elevation of one ofthe attaching brackets; Fig. 7 represents a plan of the same; Fig. 8represents a plan of a brace arm; Fig. 9 represents a side elevation ofa second attaching bracket; Fig.A 10 represents a plan of the same; andFig. 11 represents a detail in plan of a rod holder to cooperate withthe brace arm.

Referring to the drawings, one form of the present invention 1s shown asremovably secured to the back of a rocking chair 10 such as a porchrocker, and comprises a fan 11 Vof the palm leaf type. though anyotherkind of fan can be employed, which is arranged to be suspended froma laterally disposed hanger 12 supported by a rod 13l the lower end ofwhich is adjustably held by a bracket 14 fixed to a suitable cross pieceor other part of the back of` the rocker 10.

For the purpose of supporting the hanger 12`for oscillating movements,to thus causek the fan to function, it is preferably formed as a sleeve,one end of which receives a. spindle 15 and is made fast thereto by abushing 16 and a thumb-screw 17. The

4spindle 15 passes axially through a bearing block 18 and has bearingslin suitable bushings 2O which are preferably of the oil-less bearingtype. The bearing block V18 has a threaded lug 21 to receive the upperend of the support rod, the arrangement of the'parts being such as toposition lthe hanger laterally over the seat portion of the chair sothat the fan 11 is located to effectively produce currents of airtowards any one sitting in the chair 10. The projecting end of thespindle'l has asheave or vpulleyT 22 keyed or otherwise fixed thereon totransmit motion thereto.

In order to removably and adjustably support the fan 11 from the hanger`12, a suitable casting or body 23 is provided having a jaw member 24C.the gripping face of which is partly spherical to conform to the contourof a. ball part 25 fixed to the end of the hanger 12. A cooperating j awmember 26 is likewise provided with a partly spherical gripping face toengage the ball part 25, and is secured to the body 23 by a screw 27having a coil spring 28 interposed between its head and the member 26.This construction is in effect a universal `ioint which permits the body23 toV be freely moved relatively to the ball part 25 but is held firmlyby the spring 28 in any adjusted position. A fan clamp, in the form of astrip 30 having acorrugated'face 31has a cylindrical stem 32 snugly butrotatably fitting a hole 33 in the body 23 and is threaded to receive anut 34 to hold the part in position. Springs 35 or other elastic mediumare arranged to be slipped over the Astrip 30 with sufficient tension tobind the fan handle 26 to the strip 30 for purposes of operating.

As a means for automatically .causing the Y between the extension 37 andthevhanger l2, the function oic which is to limit the axial turning otthe fan when the direction of its movement is changed. This constructioncauses the tan to assume a slightly angular position, irrespective ofits direction of movement, which directs the air towards the occupant ofthe chair.

For transmitting rocking motion to the sheave or pulley 22, a rope 40,or other belt drive, is wound about the sheave 22 and has one endfastened to an end of a coil spring ll, and its other end terminating ina hook 4:2. lllhe other` end of the spring ll preterably has a hook 43arranged to engage a thmub-screw -l-Ll which serves to liz; the lowerend of the rod i3 in a tubular head 45 pivoted at 46 to thebracket 14. Aring et? and thumb-screw -l-S are carried by the rod lf3- to give theproper adjusted position of the rod i3 for the ans location. The hook4;-2 is arranged to be secured to an eye pivoted to a foot post 5l, thelower end of which terminates in a cushioning cap 52 or" suitablematerial to rest. upon the floor or other base support- For the purposeof preventinv the post 5l from leaving theloor under rocking motion, andalso to hold the rope l0 taut during the forward rocking ol the chair10, a bushing 53 is mounted in the post 5l, being adjustably hel( by athumb-screw 5s, andv having laterally7 extending bearing pins 55 whichare arranged to seat respectively inv` the biiurcated ends 56 of yoke 57and be held against displacement by cotter pins 58 or the like. llheyoke 57 forms the free end of an arm 60 which is pivotally connected toa bracket. 6l. Thisconnection consists of trunnions 62 seatingrespectively in bearing slots 653, so that while the arm 60 is 'tree tohave a certain amount of swing, it an also be quickly disconnected fromthe bracket 6l, This bracket 6l is arranged to be made Ylast to asuitable part of Ythe lower portion ot the rocker l0, and has adownwardly extending rod 64 preferably ot tubular form, which is iii/:edby a wire 65 or the like to one of the chair rounds.

A spring 66 is arranged to be secured be- Y tween the end of the rod 6dand a suitable one of the. holes 67 of the arm 60 order to place thedesired amount of'tension on the parts to prevent the rope et() and post5l from following the rocking motion oit the chair. lt will therefore beevident that the parts 62 and o3 have horizontalipivot which allows thearm 60 to swing up or down while the part 6l also has a pivot about a'vertical anis of the post 64;, land in this way the arm 60 is connectedby a form of universal joint so that the cha-ir is tree to be moved toone side or the other, or forward or backward, without disturbing theoperation of the toot post- 51. ln

Leonesa other words, the rocking chair can be moved within certainlimits and the only effect upon the toot post 5l will be to swing it inthe direction o movement where it willy still perform its functionholding the rope l0 so that the ian will operate as usual.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the brackets le and 6l arethe only parts which become permanently attached to the chair l0, andall ot the lan operating parts are removable and mar be quickly attachedtor tanning purposes whenever den sired. With extra brackets provided,one fan unit may be moved from one chair to another, the arrangementbeing particularly advantageous when indoor rockers and porch rockersare both equipped with brackets. b

lVith the device assembled upon a. chair, the fan is causal to oscillateby a rocking motion imparted to the chair. Thus a forward rocking causesthe spring 66. to be placed un .er tension so that as the pulley 22describes forward are it will be rotated in one direction, therebyrocking the hanger l2 and swinging the tan 1l. The pressure or" the airagainst the fan causes it to turn slightly about its anis 32, so thatthe stroke of the fan directs the air towards the occupant of the chair.y"Upon the returnmovement of the cha-ir the spring #il takes up theslack of theV rope Ll0 and causes the sheave 22 to reverse its rotationand thus imparta return swing to the fan l1, while also again varyingits angular position as above explained.

ln connection with the ball joint con struction 25, it should be notedthat this permits the tan to be yswung to diderent lined positionsk sothat the occupant of the chair may be more or less in the path of theair current from the fan. Thus, if the fan is swung to an inwardposition the air current will be directed more nearly over the occupantof the chair, ywhile if swung to an outward position the air current ismore in front of the occupant of the chair. ln this way the air currentcan be varied to suit the user.

While lin the present construction the fan support is pivoted eccentricwith respect to the ball joint 25, to cause angular change in positionof the fan, while oscillating, it is to be understood that. this ismerely one construction as obviously satisfactory results might beobtained by directly connecting the tan support to the ball joint or byvariously associating these parts.

Although only a single lorm is shown in lwhich this invention may beembodied, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited toany specific construction, but might be applied in various forms withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appendedclaims,

lli?

Having thus described ymy invention, I claim:

1. The combination with a rocker member, means carried by said memberfor supporting a fan, means actuated by the rocking of said member forcausingsaid fan to oscillate, a-nd means for automatically vanry-Y ingthe angular position of said fan While oscillating.

2. The combination With a rocker member, means carried by said memberfor supporting a fan, means actuated by the rocking of said member forcausing said fan to oscillate, and means for automatically varying theangular position of said fan at one portion of each Working stroke.

3. The combination With a rocker member, universal joint means carriedby said member for supporting a fan, means actucausing said fanl tooscillate, and meansrfor automatically Varying the angular position ofsaid fan While oscillating.

4:. The combination with a rocker member, an oscillatory support carriedby said member, means actuated by said member for actuating saidsupport, a fan, and means including a universal joint for attaching saidfan to said support, whereby the Working position of said fan can beVaried at Will and its angular position varied auto ma-tically at thebeginning of each oscillation.

Signed at Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania,this 11th day of September, 1922. Y.

'JOHN C. R. MARCHa

